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Gideon
Sir Gideon the half-elf is a citizen of Kaliphlin. He resides in Barqa, and is the representative for that city on the Kaliphlin High Council. He is a prominent fighter who has spent many years as a mercenary, and has also served as an officer in the Petraean city guard. Though never formally knighted, but likes to style himself Sir Gideon which has become his accepted title. Background Gideon was born as the offspring of the daughter of a minor Avalonian lord and an unknown elvish father. Some rumors say his father was a warrior, others that he was a criminal, and yet others had heard from someone who had heard from someone that... Anyway, only Gideon's mother knew for certain. Being regarded as "a filthy half-breed bastard", both by most humans and by virtually all elves, he has all his life had a hard time getting accepted in the world of Historica. Gideon’s mother died in childbirth, and he grew up in the care of his reluctant and sorrow-stricken grandfather, the lord of the small earldom of Norshire in the north-eastern part of Avalonia, not far from the Mitgardian border. Gideon’s early years he spent among the human children in his grandfather’s castle Nordana Hall. Neither his grandfather, nor the other humans in the castle were particularly found of the half-elf, so Gideon learned many hard lessons from children and grownups alike that he wasn’t “one of them”. When the other boys were sent off to squire for one famous knight or another and eventually earn their golden spurs, Gideon was left to train and serve with the household garrison. The life as a common man-at-arms was a miserable one where he was treated worse than ever, especially since his grandfather had died and his uncle had assumed the earlship. It however gave him ample opportunities to train in all kinds of weapon skills, not only those considered chivalrous enough for a proper knight. Finally, Gideon decided that he had spent enough time in a place where he had never been welcome, he set out to make his own place in the world. Gideons bitterness, well founded or not, towards Avalonians and their feudal society knows few bounds. Being a half-elf however also has its advantages. From his fathers kind, Gideon has inherited both the elvish intelligence and longevity. Even though he is still considered a youngster by elvish standards he is over 150 years old. From his mother, being of Mitgardian descent, some of the raw strength and endurance of the northmen has been passed down to him. To a great extent Gideon's life has been a life of violence, earning hard-won respect and a fair share of gold with his diverse and deadly weapon skills. As a mercenary he has travelled all over Historica and served lords, merchant princes, chieftains and kings. He even served as a captain in the Petraean city guard for a while, before growing bored by the dull slow-paced ceremonial lifestyle. Gideon still finds Kaliphlin and its vibrant cities to be his favorite place in the world. Its diverse nature means that most people don’t seem to care about his background. In his service to wealthy and sly Kaliphlin merchants Gideon also picked up many of the tricks of the trade. Combined with the numerous useful connections he has made during his travels all around Historica, it has enabled him to earn a fair bit of gold on the trade of rare Kaliphlin goods and artifacts. In recent years Gideon has mostly led a lifestyle of the wandering adventurer, never really trusting anyone but himself. Thanks to his noble descent, Gideon likes to style himself "Sir Gideon” although he never was formally knighted, as such honours are usually not bestowed upon half-breed. The human house he descends from has been extinct ever since his mother's great-nephew was slain in a Drow raid many years ago. Formally Gideon therefore may have inherited the lordship of Norshire, but he has never actually been given the position. Instead the shire has just been left to the care of the castellan of Nordana Hall who in turn passed it to his son and so on, making the present castellan Hedrik Lefteye the de facto earl of Norshire. But a small part of Gideon’s conscience tells him that it is may be his duty to return in the desperate hour when the chaos of Revolword have also reached Norshire... Category:Characters